Celebrate Valentine's Day over a home-cooked meal

This Valentine’s Day, the calendar gives all of us the chance to celebrate
two times — we can dine out on the weekend and celebrate mid-week at home.

The romantic, at-home dinner has been our way to celebrate the occasion for
many years. My advice to our two sons is that a little effort can go a long way
in the romance department. There’s nothing wrong with chocolates or roses — and
you’ll certainly never hear any complaints about jewelry — but a great way for
sweethearts to share time together is preparing a special, romantic meal.

Keep it simple. Start with a composed platter of goods purchased from the
neighborhood Italian specialty store — a few poached shrimp, an arrangement of
rosy bresaola sliced paper-thin, tiny mozzarella bocconcini, fire-roasted bell
peppers and marinated artichoke hearts. Arrange everything on a plate, seal it
with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. Just before dinner, take it out,
drizzle it with fruity olive oil and place it on the table. (I may be dating
myself here by saying that this is an homage to the antipasto at the former Lido
Restaurant in Tompkinsville.)

Staten Island Advance/ Luca SforzaPrep beets for risotto: Roast them in foil for an hour. Peel, dice and store in the fridge for up to two days.

PREP AHEAD

Now let me walk you through a dish that can serve as the main meal — a rich
beet risotto.

Risotto takes a bit of time, but some of the work easily can be done in
advance. A few days before, scrub — but do not trim or peel — a few beets.
Package them loosely in a double layer of aluminum foil and roast on a sheet pan
in a moderate oven for about an hour. The beets are done when they yield to
slight pressure. When they are cool enough to handle, the skins and stems will
slip off easily. Dice and keep them in the fridge until ready to use.

Start the risotto in the classic style by sautéing some chopped onions in
butter and oil. Have a pot of warmed chicken broth on the side ready to go. Add
the rice (Carnaroli is better than Arborio in my opinion — more forgiving) to
the onions and butter and stir until all the grains are coated. Add red wine.
Ladle stock into the mixture until it is completely absorbed. Halfway through
the process, add the beets. The cooking is finished when the rice is just cooked
through and the mixture is still quite loose.

Use only a few beets for a pinkish color, more beets to get a rich, garnet
effect. Top with goat cheese or gorgonzola and you’ve got a restaurant-quality
dish.

For dessert, try a super easy chocolate fondue. Depending on your taste,
select a specialty chocolate with at least a 65 percent cacao content. In a
double boiler, add 2 cups chocolate to 1½ cups cream and 2 tablespoons of
butter. Include a pinch of sea salt if you’re not using salted butter. A touch
of hot chili pepper can add a kick.

Surround the fondue bowlwith luscious berries, maybe some dried figs,
cubes of good pound cake, candied citrus peel, marshmallows or heart-shaped
Peeps. If you have a fondue set, by all means use it. If not, heavy heatproof
bowls will work.

Eat with forks, skewers or fingers — its up to you — for the perfect ending
to a perfectly romantic meal.

Frank Lombardi is Executive Chef and Creative Director at the Hilton
Garden Inn, Bloomfield. He can be reached through the Advance at
silvestri@siadvance.com.